


Once More To See You

by BloomingMiracle (Luna264)



Category: El Goonish Shive
Genre: Gen, alpha universe ell is nb and also my new favorite character, au where the alpha universe is suddenly even more up in everyones business, i could tag elliot but i think alpha universe elliot is kinda funky, i think i tagged everyone with a speaking role lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19410280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna264/pseuds/BloomingMiracle
Summary: Lord Tedd is a major issue. Grace and Sarah aim to solve that issue. Eventually.They're gonna need some help.





	Once More To See You

“Sarah!” Grace called, and Sarah turned on instinct, throwing up a barrier. Grace was well equipped, when it came to her enchanted armor and claymore, but she wasn’t invulnerable.

The two of them stepped to each other, falling into a back-to-back rhythm they’d developed over years of training. “Seen the General yet?” Sarah asked, throwing another spell at one of their enemies.

“Not yet,” Grace said.

“So, it’s probably not Shade Tail today, then.”

“That’s my going theory.”

Sarah ducked as Grace spun, the woman’s claymore whooshing seamlessly over her head and hitting another minion.

On top of the hill, Grace caught a glimpse of movement.

The General Kitsune.

“On the hill!” She yelled. “The General!”

Sarah and several of their other allies broke off of their engagements and made their ways to the hill. They would face down Nanase Kitsune. They would strike that blow to the man known as Lord Tedd.

~*~*~*~

“I can’t believe she got away!” Sarah groaned. “We almost had her!”

“There, there,” Grace said, patting the girl’s head. “You got some good hits on her. She won’t be leading any more battles, too soon.”

Sarah grunted in acknowledgement.

“Chin up,” Grace said brightly. “I finished one of my father’s old projects yesterday. We can finally call in some backup.”

“What kind of backup?” Sarah muttered. “What’ll help?”

“Another universe.” Grace’s eyes were shining in a way they so rarely had since the war against Lord Tedd began. “Another you, another me, another Ell…”

“Another Tedd,” Sarah said.

“Perhaps,” Grace allowed. “But who knows? Maybe we’ll find a universe where he’s a good guy. Wanna give it a shot?”

“Alright,” Sarah said.

Deep down, Sarah was pretty sure Grace was driven by some form of guilt. She and her father had taken in Sarah, Tedd, and Ell so long ago, fostered their abilities to such a degree, and then…

Why had Tedd gone away? Killed the Dr. Sciuridae, gathered his Generals, ruined so much? He had hurt everyone, but he’d hurt his family most of all.

“Here goes,” Grace said, finishing typing something into the terminal and pressing a button.

~*~*~*~

“You’re sure this is the only way?” Nanase asked.

“Yes, My Lady,” Nioi said. “General Shade Tail… He is too much what he was made to be. In his desire for destruction, he has corrupted your cousin. You’ve seen it as much as I have.”

“Right,” Nanase sighed.

The two sat in silence for a long while as Nioi tended to Nanase’s wounds.

“That other universe you visited,” Nanase said. “With that girl whose soul you aged. Can I check it out?”

“It would not be wise, in your present condition,” Nioi said. “When you are healed, I’ll teach you how to preserve your magic in other worlds. Then I’ll show you how to get to Moperville.”

Nanase nodded. “Did you meet other me?”

“Yes, briefly.”

“What’s she like?”

“She is you, My Lady.”

~*~*~*~

The screen popped up showing a strange sight, in Sarah’s opinion. She’d just been checking some notes while Tedd and Grace fiddled with the fine details of a form, when…

When mid-thirties Grace and six foot three inches her had appeared, both looking rather fresh from a fight.

Sarah yelped, falling backwards in surprise.

“Sarah?” Tedd turned.

“Sarah!” Grace cried out.

They both moved to her, Grace reaching her faster and helping her up more effectively.

“Who--“ Tedd said, and Sarah realized she was looking towards the computer screen. “Who are you?”

“My name is Grace Sciuridae,” The older Grace said. “This is my… Niece, Sarah the Blue.”

“Holy shit other me is a wizard,” Sarah said in awe.

“Mage,” Sarah the Blue said. “Is there a difference in your world, though?”

“Yeah,” Tedd said. “My dad’s a wizard. My best friend’s a mage.”

“What’s Nanase?” Sarah asked.

Tedd shrugged.

Other Grace and Sarah the Blue stiffened at Nanase’s name.

“Nanase who?” Sarah the Blue asked hesitantly.

“Nanase my cousin,” Tedd said. “So, what universe are you from? Beta Tedd’s contacted us before.”

“‘Beta’ Tedd?” The Blue muttered.

“We’re new to the whole ‘interuniversal communication’ thing,” Other Grace said. “It took a while to decipher my father’s notes and continue his research.”

“Oh,” Grace’s eyes widened. “I think they’re from the Alpha universe.”

“We’re members of a resistance army attempting to take down Lord Tedd,” Other Grace continued. “We… Well, we need all the help we can get.”

“Understandable,” Tedd said. “We’ve been trying to figure out what to do about that guy since he sent a monster to kill me one time.”

“Oh, shit, how’d that go?” Sarah the Blue asked.

“Language, Dear,” Other Grace said.

“It nearly killed my best friend’s sister, my cousin, and probably a few of our classmates,” Tedd said. “But, on the plus side, I don’t think anyone  _ actually _ died, and my dad is doing whatever it is he does trying to get over there and stop him now.”

“Also that Nioi lady visited once,” Grace said. “Shielded me from Damien. Booped Ellen’s nose and gave her weird dreams.”

“General Nioi?” Other Grace and Sarah the Blue said in unison.

Grace shrugged.

“You’re in more danger than you realize, if General Nioi’s taken an interest in you,” Other Grace said. “Do you have weapons? Are you armed at all times?”

“Uh…” Tedd said.

“She seemed alright,” Grace said. 

“She’s an incredibly powerful spellcaster  _ and _ a chimera,” Other Grace said. “Almost no one stands a chance against her in combat.”

“Grace?” Sarah the Blue said. “If that’s me, and that’s you, then who’s she?”

“Oh, ah,” Grace said. “Sorry, I’m complicated. Chimera with your aunt’s alternate’s DNA, or something. It’s weird.”

“And I’m this universe’s Tedd,” Tedd said.

“Oh,” Other Grace said. “See, Sarah? I told you. First universe we called. Universe where Tedd’s good.”

“I don’t trust like that,” Sarah the Blue said.

“Fair enough,” Tedd said. 

~*~*~*~

“So you were contacted by a resistance from Lord Tedd’s universe,” Edward said.

“Yeah,” Sarah said.

“Oh, boy,” Edward sighed. “Now I’ve got to get the government in contact with them, figure out a way to get a few wizards spared to that universe, not to mention dealing with the whole  _ Magus _ issue…”

“I’m dreadfully sorry that the call for help from another universe is inconvenient for you,” Tedd deadpanned. “Next time, we can keep it to ourselves, if you’d rather.”

“Absolutely do not do that,” Edward said.

“Great,” Grace said. “Now that that’s sorted out, there was a new form I wanted to figure out.” She pushed Sarah and Tedd back towards the basement, and Edward waved them away.

~*~*~*~

Back downstairs, Sarah gave Grace a Look. “This is something else, isn’t it?”

“Dad’s gonna be so tied up in bureaucracy,” Tedd said. “There’s no way he’s gonna be able to get wizards to Lord Tedd’s universe.”

“Right,” Grace said. “So that’s why  _ we _ have to go.”

Sarah blinked. “What?”

“Grace is right,” Tedd said. “We have to be the ones to go. Us and our friends, I mean, not just us three.”

Grace nodded.

Sarah considered that. “I guess you’re right,” She said. “But… not because of the government.”

“Then why do  _ you _ think it has to be us?” Grace asked.

“Because Magus is another Elliot, and the only person he mentioned from his own universe was another Tedd,” Sarah said. “And because we were contacted by alpha me and Grace. Somehow, existence has decided that  _ we’re _ the important ones.”

“That makes sense!” Grace said.

“You’ve been reading too many comics,” Tedd said. “Still, I can’t say I disagree.”

Sarah chuckled and blushed, rubbing the back of her head. “What can I say?”

“We shouldn’t  _ plan _ this here,” Tedd continued. “My dad might barge in on us, and I doubt he’d be happy about it.”

“But whatever we do to go there, we have to do it here, right?” Sarah asked.

“Maybe not,” Grace said.

“Hm?” Sarah and Tedd turned to her.

~*~*~*~

“Yeah, Kaoli should show up at some point,” Ellen said. “Why did all three of you have to come over to ask that?”

~*~*~*~

“Oh, funky,” She decided after the explanation. “Yeah, that makes sense. We shouldn’t tell Elliot, he can’t keep a secret. Tedd’s dad would find out in three minutes. My parents might tell him, too.”

“I don’t want to talk about this somewhere where not everyone knows about magic,” Tedd said.

“Hmm…” Ellen said. “Ah, I know! I’ll talk to Charlotte, and we can discuss it at her place sometime when her roommates are out! Perfect plan.”

“Is Nanase in this plan?” Sarah asked.

“Obviously,” Ellen said.

“Justin? Diane? Susan?” Grace asked.

“Probably at least Justin and Susan,” Ellen said. “Diane’s not even Dreaming. I don’t want to drag her into a magic war.”

“I hope I Awaken soon,” Sarah sighed. “My spell’s no good for fighting.”

“That’s not the only thing that matters in a war,” Tedd said. “If I can get in contact with the Seer in Europe, I might want to see if his mother can help. He’s a kid, but  _ she _ ’s a monster hunter.”

“That also depends on how travel between two universes works,” Grace said.

“Yeah,” Tedd said. “That’s true.”

~*~*~*~

“I still don’t trust them,” Sarah the Blue muttered under her breath.

“We need all the help we can get,” Grace said.

“And we’ll need even more if they join up with Lord Tedd.”

Grace sighed. “Go see what Ell’s up to, alright? I’m gonna try and look through some more of these notes.”

Sarah nodded and wandered out.

~*~*~*~

Ell was beating up a wooden dummy with reckless abandon. Sarah leaned against the walling, watching as they sent it flying into the air with a swift uppercut.

“Leave some for the rest of us!” She called.

Ell laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind next time we’re in battle.”

“Oh, you--” Sarah snapped, and a bubble of water appeared above her friend.

Ell was mostly able to dodge the sudden orb, and they laughed again as they cartwheeled towards Sarah, ending the motion with a swift, downward kick.

“Hey!” Sarah laughed, knocking them back with a blast of force.

“You asked for it!” Ell said, coating their hands with magic energy and rushing Sarah.

~*~*~*~

A few minutes later, the two of them were lying on the dirt, panting.

“We should go inside, if we’re gonna lie down like this,” Ell said.

“Maybe,” Sarah allowed.

Silence.

Sarah was about to speak again, when Ell spoke up.

“Is something wrong?”

“What? No, nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine.”

“You always start off with water when something’s wrong.”

“I’m fine,” Sarah insisted. “I’ll pop into the View if you keep pushing it.”

“Something’s wrong,” Ell muttered. “You never threaten to pop into the View when something’s not wrong.”

Sarah huffed, and closed her eyes.

When she opened them, the world around her was exactly the same, except for the fact that it visibly ended. She sat up, looking over at Ell, who was looking up at the sky with a rather unamused expression.

“Everything’s fine,” Sarah said again. “Nothing’s wrong. Just Tedd.”

She sighed, and brushed View Ell’s hair out of their eyes. She trusted them completely, but… Well, it was hard to trust them  _ completely _ completely, after Tedd’s betrayal. The three of them had grown up together. Been inseparable. But now, well, Tedd had proven quite separable indeed.

“Stay with me, Ell,” Sarah sighed. “Please. I couldn’t bear to lose you, too.”

View Ell did not reply.

~*~*~*~

“You remember the plan?” Nioi asked.

Kaoli nodded. “It’ll be nice to see Ellen again.”

“Just the eight,” Nioi said, adjusting Kaoli’s coat. “Remember that. No matter who else they vouch for, just the eight.”

“I know, I know,” Kaoli said. “Sheesh,  _ Mom _ , you act like we  _ haven’t _ gone over this a billion times.”

Nioi raised an eyebrow.

“Just the eight,” Kaoli said.

Nioi nodded, satisfied. “Are you ready?”

“I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,” Kaoli said. Her tone wasn’t exactly serious, but the humor it contained was almost a sad kind. “How could I not be?”

“But are you?”

Kaoli sighed. “No,” She said. “I don’t think it’s possible to be ready for what’s to come.”

“We’ve waited this long,” Nioi said. “We can--”

“No.”

“Kaoli--”

“We have to do this,” Kaoli said. “For everyone’s sake. If Tedd manages to kill his counterpart in Moperville, there’s no going back.”

“Kaoli, if you’re not ready, you could die from what we’re about to set in motion.”

“I could die anyway,” Kaoli said. “There’s no way all of us are coming out the other side of this alive, and you know it.”

Nioi sighed, and nodded. “Then let’s begin, shall we?”

**Author's Note:**

> catch me finally writing a fic for my favorite comic probably ever? This is me trying not to get sucked into another reread but I doubt it'll be *that* effective lmao
> 
> I might write some more of this? I originally set out to write a Sarah/Nanase forbidden romance type thing but then I remembered I personally can't do that without a more established setting oops
> 
> Let's be real, though. How am I supposed to focus on smooching when there's lore to get to?


End file.
